The Motivational Desire For The Senior Secondary Students To Study Chinese In The Chinese Independence School In Malaysia

The successful establishment of Malaysia Independence Chinese Secondary School (MICSS) mostly relies on the Chinese community of the country, who has a passion and commitment to develop Chinese education. It has successfully established a series of effective and complete Chinese education system ranging from primary schools, secondary schools to colleges. However, due to various unpredictable external factors, the foundation of the MICSS in educating their students is still unstable. Every year, numerous efforts have been done as to keep the development of MICSS on track. The term "Chinese Independence Secondary School" means secondary schools which are managed by a (Chinese) community using Chinese language as the teaching language. Under the current educational structure of Malaysia, MICSS can only be survived relying on the financial support of the local Chinese community and school fees collected from students.As the senior level students of Sabah Chinese High School are uninterested in learning Chinese language, a survey has been conducted in order to find out the actual reasons of such problem. The outcomes show that most of the senior level students felt that the impact of not knowing Chinese language would not affect their future studies or career prospect as Malaysian's native language (Bahasa Malaysia) and English language are the main languages used in most schools, colleges and universities. Secondly, the students felt that Chinese language is difficult to learn. Thirdly, students are educated to sit for two public exams, i.e. the Government open examinations and examinations set by MICSS. Fourthly, parental influential is also one of the key factors contributed to the finding. Fifthly, teachers' teaching methods are inflexible.To motivate students to develop an interest in learning Chinese language, the following strategies are suggested:(1) Educating students so as to have an in-depth knowledge about Chinese culture and the history and development of China. The thoughts that "as a Chinese, one must know Chinese language by understanding Chinese culture" must be recognized;(2) Assisting students to understand the objectives of learning Chinese language.(3) Teachers must train students to possess positive attributions towards the results of the subject;(4) Assisting students to realize the fun and advantages of knowing Chinese language;(5) Teachers must develop a harmonious and healthy relationship with their students. (6) Strengthening the skills in the teaching of Chinese language;(7) Educate students to recognized the value of the UECS examination certificate.